Various elemental Phosphorus (P) derivatives and methods are, known in the chemical art as “glyphosates”, which are effective and commercially important broad spectrum herbicides useful in controlling the growth of geminating seeds, emerging seedlings, maturing and established woody and herbaceous vegetation and aquatic plants.
Glyphosates are used as post-emergent herbicides to control the growth of a wide variety of weed species in crops and are the active ingredient in the “ROUNDUP” family of herbicides available from Monsanto Company St. Louis, Mo. Glyphosates have been widely used in agriculture for many years and the preparation and use thereof are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,853,530 and 3,977,860.
Beneficial plants have been genetically engineered to resist or tolerate glyphosates and crops of such plants are treated with glyphosates usually by spray application to reduce or eliminate adjoining weeds and other harmful vegetation which reduce crop yields.
Advances in genetic engineering have transformed cultivated crops, such as, soybeans, maize (corn), sorghum, canola, alfalfa, cotton and wheat to provide tolerance to glyphosate herbicides, also known as “ROUNDUP READY” crops.
Glyphosate resistant or tolerant crops reduce the need for tillage for weed control thereby reducing soil erosion and lowering crop production costs (fuel and labor) involved in tillage. However, for many crops, the genetically induced resistance is not completely total, and the application (usually foliar) of the glyphosate, can result in yield losses since the crop may also be adversely affected, either mildly or greatly, by the herbicide application. Depending on other adverse factors of production, such as, soil conditions, climate, disease, insect pressure, inadequate plant nutrition, or other factors, the crop can itself be temporarily stunted from the herbicide application and suffer a “set back”, or “yield drag” from which it takes time to recover.
As used herein, the term “yield drag” is defined as the decrease in crop yield as a result of applying increasing rates of a glyphosate herbicide such as Roundup to genetically engineered Roundup Ready crops in order to mitigate weed growth.
As used herein, the term “set back” is defined as the decline in physical appearance and vigor of a genetically engineered Roundup Ready crop resulting from the Roundup application itself.
It is during this recovery period that crops are weakened and vulnerable to other forms of crop reduction pressure, before a return to a normal growth pattern. In many cases the plants may not fully recover which results in a reduced crop yield.
An inadequate method to avoid this “set back” or “yield drag” is to use/prescribe lower rates of glyphosphate so that the adverse effect to the crop is reduced, but this can result in inadequate weed control and the development of glyphosate resistant weed species.
It would be desirable to have a composition that when applied with herbicides would allow genetically engineered crops to avoid such “set back” or “yield drag” losses altogether or at least allow them to recover more quickly after application of glyphosate and other herbicides in order to improve crop yields as well as improve the health of the crop.
It would further be desirable to have a product that can be applied to genetically engineered food crops that will both control undesirable and unwanted vegetation, but also effectively stop, retard, or mitigate fungal and bacterial diseases, and/or insect crop damage, caused by, or exacerbated by foliar herbicide applications.
It would further be desirable to have a product that can be applied together with the glyphosate in order to allow the glyphosate to be applied at full strength in order to control resistant and non-resistant weed species while not harming or reducing the yield of the desirable or planted crop.